The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 34

A little while ago, I was in the Gray Forest of the Demonic Palace.

I hadn’t expected to return here, and I let out a breath.

Before me stood an Apostle.

Behind me, Nia had collapsed to the ground.

The timing was incredibly precise.

Had I been even slightly late, Nia might not have survived.

“Why you…”

Nia’s voice, filled with confusion, sounded from behind me.

Having successfully cast a spell to reverse his age, he had managed to enter the Demonic Palace.

But it seemed incomplete.

‘The Irregular Elimination Squad has appeared.’

In front of me, the Apostle with four eyes twirled its pupils.

This Apostle was the Irregular Elimination Squad of the Demonic Palace.

Apostle of Irregularity.

It appears whenever someone breaks the rules of the Demonic Palace, emerging from anywhere within the palace to eliminate the transgressor quickly.

Nia’s spell to reverse his age was incomplete.

Because of this, it had summoned the Apostle of Irregularity.

Clang!

At that moment, the Apostle of Irregularity deflected my hand blade.

From the start, it hadn’t paid me any real attention.

It was created for one purpose only: to eliminate Irregulars.

In other words, its sole intent was to kill Nia.

The Apostle of Irregularity bypassed me and swung its sword, connected to its hand, towards Nia.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I stepped in to block it.

My raised hand met the Apostle’s sword in an instant.

I had experienced the sword countless times already through the ‘Lazy Genius’, Van.

Reading the Apostle’s sword path, I deflected all its attacks.

Spotting an opening, I kicked out, my leg connecting with the Apostle’s abdomen.

It staggered, taking a step back from the force of the heavy blow.

However, the Apostle didn’t plan on yielding so easily.

Its mouth opened, gathering beams of light.

Was it preparing to fire a laser?

Unfortunately for it, I wasn’t here alone.

Boom!

Before the light beams gathered by the Apostle of Irregularity could fire, a flash shot toward it.

A burst of light so fast that my eyes couldn’t keep up sent the Apostle of Irregularity flying into the distance.

Far off, I could see Sharin, staff raised.

When our eyes met, she gave a lazy smile.

The top mage of the Academy.

Sharin Sazaris.

She may be a bit unruly, but as a rear support, she’s nearly unstoppable.

Meanwhile, I quickly grabbed Nia’s arm and helped him up.

“We can save explanations for later. That staff—it’s tied to some mystical secret, isn’t it?”

“How did you know…”

“I figured as much, after some deduction. It seems…”

My gaze narrowed.

“An Illacrux horn… That’s nasty.”

Someone had clearly known Nia was researching a spell to reverse his age and intentionally set things up this way.

Casting a spell with an age-reversing enchantment on oneself most likely means imminent danger.

‘Robliaju, what a ruthless schemer.’

Robliaju must have known about the existence of the Apostle of Irregularity, too.

They must have calculated everything to guide the situation to this point.

Their ability to set up the game is exceptional.

In effect, they had nearly assassinated Nia without even dirtying their own hands.

But there was one thing.

Something Robliaju hadn’t accounted for.

‘He didn’t expect a real Irregular to exist.’

Even he hadn’t anticipated the variables that I, someone who had played Blazing Butterfly countless times, would introduce.

“What are you…?”

Even as he ran alongside me, Nia looked at me with a baffled expression.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand how I had appeared at this exact moment.

Crunch!

Just then, the Apostle of Irregularity, who had been struck by Sharin’s magic, slowly rose to its feet.

Its body twisted unnaturally, as if its joints had come undone, creating a grotesque appearance.

“I put quite a bit of power into that. But it looks perfectly fine?”

Sharin gripped her staff, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Sharin, that thing’s immortal. No matter what you hit it with, it won’t make a difference.”

The Apostle of Irregularity doesn’t die.

It simply regenerates continuously, drawing from the infinite energy provided by the Demonic Palace.

And over time—

Crunch!

It evolves again and again.

Sure enough, the Apostle of Irregularity transformed into its second form.

Wings sprouted from its back, and it gained an additional arm.

It opened its mouth wide and roared, an intense hostility emanating as it prepared to eliminate the Irregular.

Boom!

At that moment, dozens of flames flew toward the Apostle of Irregularity, shattering it.

The source of the flames was Sharin.

“An immortal, huh?”

She dusted off her now-powdered staff and pulled out a new one.

Various elemental magics swirled around her.

Most mages are usually born with a single affinity.

Sharin, however, had no such limitations.

“I’m curious. Let’s see how far it can come back.”

There was a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Her pure curiosity as a mage seemed to have been piqued.

I supposed it was fine to leave her be.

I turned to Nia.

“Assistant Professor Nia Cynthia, you may have many questions, but surely you realize by now that someone is targeting your life.”

Nia’s face hardened.

This situation clearly conveyed an intent to kill him.

Nia wasn’t unaware of this.

“And it’s likely they’ll target you again in the future, in ways you wouldn’t expect, just like today.”

“……”

The person who gifted Nia the staff was undoubtedly someone he trusted.

That’s why he had accepted it without suspicion.

If incidents like this continued, Nia’s life would be severely affected.

‘I think I understand why Robliaju is so determined to kill Nia.’

Although his age-reversal magic was incomplete, he had made significant progress.

He was someone who might genuinely revolutionize magic in the future.

Duke Robliaju had allied himself with the Dark Sovereign.

As a servant of the Dark Sovereign, Nia was clearly an undesirable presence.

“How about this? Let’s stage your death in the Demonic Palace and focus on uncovering the culprit.”

Nia understood my meaning.

Adults cannot enter the Demonic Palace.

So, if only Sharin and I coordinate our story, we can convincingly stage Nia’s death.

As long as Nia doesn’t return, no one outside will know the truth.

A faked death has considerable benefits for Nia as well.

Not only will it immediately secure his safety, but it will also allow him to trace whoever targeted his life.

And, if a similar incident occurs in the future, Nia could reappear as a witness to take control of the situation.

“If you’re under the First Prince, hiding your identity should be feasible.”

Nia’s eyes widened in surprise.

It seemed he had kept his association with the First Prince a secret.

But that made my words carry more weight.

Knowing a hidden truth gives my statement credibility he can’t ignore.

“If you’re curious about me, find out for yourself. But for the next two years.”

That’s the time remaining until I graduate from Zeryon Academy.

With that time, even Duke Robliaju can be forced out into the open.

“Working from the shadows for two years might not be a bad option.”

I subtly suggested a timeline.

I didn’t know how Nia would interpret it, but I had laid out every card I could.

“Oh, and since I saved your life, I’ll ask for a favor in return one day.”

“Hah, you really have a way of speaking as you please.”

Nia sighed in disbelief, probably because I was so casually suggesting something monumental.

Seeing this, I gave a small grin.

“The favor is actually about your younger sibling.”

I had already chosen the happy ending path.

To save Nikita.

Just once, I’d need Nia’s help.

At that, Nia’s expression shifted.

Suddenly, a fierce intensity—almost murderous—emanated from him, as though I had touched a nerve.

“I won’t give you my little sister.”

What kind of misunderstanding is he having in this situation?

“Come on, let’s not go there.”

“You little… So you approached me to get close to my sister! My little sister grew up admiring me and only likes tall men. She wouldn’t even consider someone as short as you!”

Wow, a total sis-con.

He looks like a noble, but this is a bit much.

“That’s not it. Don’t misunderstand. I just want to ensure Nikita-senpai doesn’t face any issues because of your faked death.”

When I mentioned the possibility of something happening to Nikita, Nia’s anger began to subside.

“…Yes, Nikita cares for me a lot, so she might react that way.”

Whatever the reason, as long as he understood, that was fine.

I approached Nia and held out my hand.

“Let me see the hand holding the staff.”

“This is an Illacrux horn. It could drain your magic.”

“It’s fine. I have my own protection.”

Nia squinted at me.

“What on earth are you, really?”

From knowing hidden information to now revealing some sort of mystery, I remained an enigma that Nia couldn’t grasp at all.

One by one, I opened Nia’s fingers.

With my reinforced skin, an Illacrux horn wouldn’t be able to harm me.

“Figure it out for yourself later.”

The more you try, the more lost you’ll become.

But for now, that was enough.

I pulled the Illacrux horn from Nia and spun it lightly in my hand.

“We can submit this as evidence for your faked death.”

For a mage to lose their staff in the Demonic Palace is as good as death.

Plus, the Illacrux horn embedded in the staff would draw attention.

Of course, by then, the trail regarding the Illacrux horn would have been cut.

Everyone will claim ignorance, and only the artisan who crafted the staff will pay the price.

‘Originally, even the First Prince wouldn’t be greatly opposed to Nia’s death.’

Nia was a significant player.

But his death left too many uncertainties.

All circumstantial evidence pointed to the Third Princess’s faction, but due to the lack of hard evidence from the use of magic, no one could corner her faction.

The power of the First Prince and the Third Princess was nearly equal, creating a delicate balance where accusations could easily backfire.

So, ultimately, Nia’s death was left unresolved.

Except for one person.

Only Nikita pursued Nia’s death relentlessly, certain that the Third Princess’s faction was responsible.

‘But this time, things are different.’

Nia is alive.

And that is the most significant piece of evidence.

The First Prince’s faction will dig deep to bring down the Third Princess’s camp.

‘Duke Robliaju thinks the world belongs to him, doesn’t he?’

I’ve prepared a huge surprise for him.

Enjoy it.

“Take this as well.”

Just then, Nia pulled a necklace from his chest and handed it over.

It bore the insignia of the Cynthia family.

“This necklace is given to the heir of the Cynthia family. With it, my death will seem all the more certain.”

Nia exhaled as he spoke, clearly not thrilled at playing along with my plan, but he seemed to realize that I meant no harm.

“If you pull any foolish moves with Nikita while I’m gone, I’ll kill you.”

He left this sharp warning.

It seems he still sees me as someone trying to get close to Nikita.

“How is a dead man going to kill me?”

And I never let a provocation pass without a response.

“Um, excuse me…”

As Nia and I exchanged glares, Sharin’s voice cut in.

She pointed somewhere with a troubled look.

There stood the now grotesque form of the Irregular Exterminator, twisted beyond words.

Who knows how many spells it had been hit with—apparently, it had already gone through ten evolutions.

Sharin had inflicted enough damage to kill it ten times over.

No wonder I kept hearing explosions beside me. She did everything she wanted.

Sharin showed me her empty belt.

It seemed she’d used up all the staffs she carried.

“Now magic won’t kill it.”

After ten deaths, the Irregular Exterminator becomes immune to either magic or physical attacks, depending on the method of the final blow.

I was floored.

How many times did she kill it?

“Grrrrrk.”

The Irregular Exterminator let out an unpleasant sound, clearly enraged by the absurd bombardment.

Seeing this, I quickly came to a decision.

“Let’s run.”

And I took off like my life depended on it.